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No Tarmac Delays Longer Than Three Hours for the Second Month in a Row

No Tarmac Delays Longer Than Three Hours for the Second Month in a Row

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 -
November was the second month in a row that the nation's largest airlines
reported no flights with tarmac delays of more than three hours, while the
carriers reported only a slight increase in the rate of canceled flights during
the month, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).This past October and November were the only months
with no tarmac delays of more than three hours by the reporting carriers since
the Department began collecting more comprehensive tarmac delay data in October
2008.

Data filed with
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) showed there have been only 12 total
tarmac delays of more than three hours reported from May through November 2010
by the 18 airlines that file on-time performance data with DOT, compared to 550
during the same seven-month period of 2009. November was the seventh full month of data since the new aviation
consumer rule went into effect on April 29, 2010. BTS is a part of DOT's Research and
Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

The largest
carriers canceled 0.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in November, up
from the 0.5 percent cancellation rate of November 2009. They posted a 0.97
percent cancellation rate in October 2010. The number of canceled flights with tarmac delays of more than two hours
increased only slightly, from 224 between May and November 2009 to 241 between
May and November 2010. There were 11 canceled flights with tarmac delays
of more than two hours in November 2010, up from zero in November 2009.

The new tarmac
delay rule prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting
an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without deplaning
passengers, with exceptions allowed only for safety or security or if air
traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal
would disrupt airport operations. The Department will investigate tarmac
delays that exceed this limit.

The monthly
report also includes data on on-time performance, chronically delayed flights,
flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department
by the reporting carriers. In addition, it has information on reports of
mishandled baggage filed by consumers with the carriers, and consumer service,
disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer
Protection Division. This report also includes reports of incidents
involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.

On-Time Performance

The reporting carriers recorded an overall on-time arrival
rate of 83.2 percent in November, down from both the 88.6 percent on-time rate
of November 2009 and October 2010's 83.8 percent.

Tarmac Delays

In November, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that .0200 percent of their scheduled flights
had tarmac delays of two hours or more, down from .0300 percent in October.
There were no flights with tarmac delays of more than three hours in November.

Chronically Delayed Flights

At the end of November, there was only one flight that was
chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the
time – for two consecutive months. There were no flights chronically
delayed for three consecutive months or more. A list of flights that were
chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS (www.bts.gov).

Causes of Flight Delays

In November, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that 5.38 percent of their flights were
delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 4.79 percent in October; 5.64
percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 5.54 percent in October; 4.58 percent
by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
to 4.44 percent in October; 0.31 percent by extreme weather, equal to October's
0.31 percent; and 0.03 percent for security reasons, equal to October's 0.03
percent. Weather is a factor in both the
extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays
due to the re-routing of flights by DOT's Federal Aviation Administration in
consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft,
although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

Data collected by BTS also show the
percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in
either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System
delays. In November, 31.72 percent of late flights were delayed by weather,
down 5.12 percent from November 2009, when 33.43 percent of late flights were
delayed by weather, and down 4.05 percent from October when 33.06 percent of
late flights were delayed by weather.

Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.

Mishandled Baggage

The U.S.
carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a
mishandled baggage rate of 2.93 reports per 1,000 passengers in November, up
from both November 2009's rate of 2.83 and October 2010's rate of 2.91.

Incidents Involving Pets

In November, carriers reported six incidents
involving the loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air, up from the
four reports filed in November 2009, but less than the seven reports filed in October
2010. November's incidents involved five
pet deaths and one pet injury.

Complaints About Airline Service

In November, the Department received 667
complaints about airline service from consumers, up 20.2 percent from the 555
complaints filed in November 2009, and down 10.9 percent from the 749 received
in October 2010.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in November against airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 43
disability-related complaints in November, up from the total of 39 filed in November
2009 but down from the 49 complaints received in October 2010.

Complaints About Discrimination

In
November, the Department received 11 complaints alleging discrimination by
airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion,
national origin or sex – equal to the total of 11 recorded in November 2009,
but up from the total of six recorded in October 2010.

Consumers may
file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection
Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590;
by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at http://airconsumer.dot.gov.

Consumers who
want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline's reservation
number or their travel agent. This
information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these
agents. The information is also
available on the appropriate carrier's website.

The Air Travel
Consumer Report can be found on DOT's World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.dot.gov. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word
format.